Forsythiaxc3x97intermedia/Forsythia.
cv. xe2x80x98Courdijauxe2x80x99.
A new and distinct cultivar of Forsythiaxc3x97intermedia plant is provided that is a mutation derived from the xe2x80x98Spring Gloryxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States).
When creating the new cultivar of the present invention plants of the xe2x80x98Spring Gloryxe2x80x99 cultivar were irradiated with gamma rays, seeds were formed thereon following open pollination, and the seedlings produced upon the planting of such seeds were observed. The irradiation and the study of the resulting seedlings were carried out at the Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique located at Angers, France.
It was found that a single plant observed following such irradiation and the planting of seeds possessed the characteristics of the Forsythia cultivar of the present invention. The characteristics of such new cultivar can be summarized as follows:
(a) Exhibits a wide prostrate growth habit,
(b) Bears anthocyanin coloration at the apex of the sepals,
(c) Forms attractive dense wide-opening yellow flowers that commonly are borne singly per bud, and
(d) Is slow-growing and requires no special care.
The new cultivar of the present invention well meets the needs of the horticultural industry and is particularly well suited for growing as attractive ornamentation in the landscape. The yellow blossoms are densely formed in the springtime. Such dense flowering is manifest even though only one flower commonly is produced per flowering bud.
The new cultivar of the present invention can be readily distinguished from plants of the xe2x80x98Courtasolxe2x80x99 cultivar (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,104) and the xe2x80x98Courtacourxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. Application Ser. No. 09/607,278, filed Jun. 30, 2000) that also were derived from the xe2x80x98Spring Gloryxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States). More specifically, the new cultivar is very slow growing and assumes a more prostrate configuration than the xe2x80x98Courtacourxe2x80x99 variety. Also, the flowers commonly are borne singly and not in clusters as the xe2x80x98Courtasolxe2x80x99 cultivar.
The new cultivar grows well in containers, tubs and pots and can be grown on balconies and terraces. It can be grown to advantage wherever an attractive wide and low-growing ornamental plant is desired.
The new cultivar has been found to readily undergo asexual propagation by the use of softwood cuttings. Roots readily form on such cuttings during the summer. Such asexual propagation has been carried out at Angers, France, and elsewhere, and has confirmed that the new cultivar reproduces true to type.
The new cultivar has been named the xe2x80x98Courdijauxe2x80x99 cultivar.